After one good race, the horse turned in two shockers. “The whole thing has been a disaster . . . He’s not going well enough to go on,” Kent said.

But against all odds, he ran in the $US1 million Dubai Gold Cup. He was going like the clappers until the race was stopped to remove a fallen horse. In the rerun, Unusual Suspect led into the straight but ran out of puff.

While the horse enjoyed a long rest, tragedy struck the Lords in July. As Lord rushed home from overseas, media outlets ran harrowing images. The public rallied behind the family. Channel Seven, the Illawarra Mercury and WIN TV have all been taken to task by the public for the intrusion they caused in the reporting of Molly’s accident.

Lord and Molly’s mum Linda lobbied the government, saying they hoped other families “will be allowed to grieve in peace without the intrusion of the media”.

By now a three-quarter share in Unusual Suspect had been split among Australian owners of all walks of life, with Lord keeping a stake and Abrams owning the rest.

The horse resumed racing in September and, according to trainer Kent, he was flying: “I’m not sure he could win the Cup but there’s a decent race in him.”

But the next race left him sore and sorry. He ran second-last in the Cranbourne Cup and, while he looked a chance in the Moonee Valley Cup, he faded to fifth.

And now, after the year from hell, Unusual Suspect will line up on Tuesday with the weight of a nation’s emotions on his back.

But only if he sneaks into the field. He’s 24th in order of entry and will be guaranteed a start only if a runner above him drops out.

“If he gets in the field he will be running,” Lord says.

Even if the old boy does start, he’s nine – that’s 32.5 in human years, up against 20-year-olds. His 68-start career is the longest in the Cup by two miles. What’s more, he’s 300-1 – 10 times his odds last year when the Cup dream almost came true. Before it all became so terribly, unbelievably sad.

“It’s been a tough year at a personal level,” Lord says.

“It will be great to see Unusual Suspect go around once more in the Cup and if he does run, I hope that his supporters get something from him to cheer home.”